Individual slip-ups, selection surprises and is it time for a recall for Grujic? TWO TO GO... WHAT CARDIFF NEED TO DO
CARDIFF City failed to extend their advantage over promotion rivals Fulham after they were beaten 3-1 by Derby County on a disappointing night at Pride Park.
The Bluebirds went ahead in the 28th minute as Callum Paterson unleashed an unstoppable volley beyond Scott Carson.
But a second-half brace from former Bluebird Cameron Jerome as well as a strike from substitute Matej Vydra earned Gary Rowett’s men all three points.
It means Cardiff remain just one point clear of Fulham with two matches left to play, although their destiny still remains in their own hands.
Neil Warnock’s side could still clinch promotion into the promised land of the Premier League this seems to be struggling to come to terms with his own role in this promotion push.
Did the Bluebirds really pay £5million for someone to spur Kenneth Zohore on?
It’s a claim Warnock has repeatedly refuted and his selection of the former Bolton forward for a game of this magnitude again suggested the manager has the utmost faith in Madine.
But once again the ends didn’t justify the means for the January weekend if they beat Hull City at the KCOM Stadium and Sunderland overcome Fulham at Craven Cottage on Friday.
But, regardless of what the Cottagers do, Cardiff will claim runner-up spot if they claim wins in their games against Hull and Reading.
The Bluebirds’ defeat means Aston Villa can still mathematically reach the top two, although they would be relying on Fulham and Cardiff to drop points in their final two games.
Remaining fixtures Cardiff City:
(H)
Fulham: Aston Villa:
Millwall (A)
Hull City (A), Reading
Sunderland (H), Birmingham City (A) Derby County (H), acquisition, despite his best efforts, winning headers and working as hard as anyone in a productive, if profligate, first-half display.
Ward was similar, hard-working if fairly ineffectual, in the final third.
And yet it’s difficult to criticise either player because Cardiff’s demise came after both had departed (to strong ovations from the visiting faithful).
Yanic Wildschut came on for Ward and endured a horrific cameo. The Dutchman might well be marginalised for the remaining two games of the season after that but Madine, much maligned as he may be, could yet have a role to play.
Calls for Grujic to return
DESPITE a promising first-half display, Gunnarsson looked dazed after the break at Pride Park and, although he scored what proved the winner against Nottingham Forest, few can claim it’s been vintage Ice Man since his return from injury.
Debate now rages among the Cardiff fanbase about whether Gunnarsson should actually be dropped for the game at Hull this weekend, with Marko Grujic the obvious choice to come back.
Grujic can feel hard done by. He was dropped for the Wolves game and Cardiff lost, omitted at Derby and they lost again.
In fact, the on-loan Liverpool man has only tasted defeat once in the league in Bluebirds colours, winning eight and drawing three.
Without him, Cardiff have lost two in five.
Making such a seismic switch and leaving out a player like Gunnarsson would be a big call for Warnock to make, even if the form book suggests it may pay dividends.
By the same token, you wouldn’t bet against Gunnarsson responding with two big displays in the promotion cauldron.
How to regroup and the promotion picture
WARNOCK insisted he wouldn’t watch Fulham taking on Sunderland tomorrow night, a game in which the Cottagers can move back into second place and ramp up the pressure on Cardiff.
In fact, the veteran boss gave Sunderland absolutely no chance of winning at Craven Cottage, joking that he’d watch some Netflix instead.
What’s clear is that he will concentrate on reviving Cardiff’s dented confidence.
The Bluebirds can still secure automatic promotion with two wins in their final two games and positivity should still flow throughout the squad.
They have the characters – and the manager – to succeed in their aims and bounce back from their Pride Park agony.